Revise and resend an old article, which should be a scene.
Is it important to have a vast territory, or is it important for the people to be rich?
Different people will have different answers.
But if you have to choose one or the other, in the Celestial Empire, the former will definitely have the upper hand, and there is no suspense.
Our evaluation of an emperor or dynasty usually starts with the martial arts. Although its Chinese rule ranks before martial arts, in fact, the Chinese people respect martial arts more.
For example, Qin Shi Huang, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty or Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty were able to enter the ranks of great emperors, first of all, thanks to their exploits in expanding the territory.
And if you look at it from the perspective of martial arts, the two Song Dynasty are indeed a little lackluster, so they have a weak evaluation.
In the eyes of many people, Song is associated with weakness.
The reason why people form the impression of a "weak Song" is related to the "weakness" of the Song Dynasty militarily.
There was the Song Dynasty, and the threat of war from other races was constant. From the early Liao and Western Xia, to the middle Jin, and then to the later Mongolia, the Great Song Dynasty seems to have won fewer and lost more in foreign wars, and land reparations have become commonplace.
What's more, the Song Dynasty also "contributed" to the thousand-year-old shame of the Chinese nation, the "Jingkang Change". Then it set a precedent and became the first great unified dynasty to die at the hands of a foreign race.
It seems that the weakness of the Song Dynasty is beyond doubt.
The reason for the weakness, as pointed out by Qianfu, is the military system of "using literature to control weapons". Many believe that this was the root cause of the Song Dynasty's weak military power.
Actually, this perception is wrong.
The Song Dynasty's use of literature to control military force was not an isolated case in Chinese history, and the same was true of the Ming Dynasty.
In the internal and external wars of the late Ming Dynasty, the fierce men who could be called, such as Yuan Chonghuan, Sun Chuanting, Sun Chengzong, etc., were all literati from Yishui.
Although the Ming Dynasty was finally overthrown by civil strife and lost the country to the Manchus, there do not seem to be many people who think it is weaker.
Because the foreign wars of the Ming Dynasty are very handy.
For example, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who was invincible in the east, was defeated at the hands of Emperor Wanli and the Ming Dynasty, and finally died of depression;
For example, until the fall of the Ming Dynasty, the Qing army failed to break through the Shanhai Pass, if it weren't for Wu Sangui's anger at the crown, the Manchurians might have to wait for several years to enter the customs;
For example, during the stormy Southern Ming Dynasty, Zheng Chenggong also defeated the Dutch and recovered Taiwan.
Therefore, the use of civilian means to control military force does not mean that the combat effectiveness of the army is not strong.
In fact, the confrontation between the two armies is not a one-on-one heads-up, and the military chief does not need to personally go into battle to cut people, whether he is from the army or not, the relationship is not too big.
For example, the well-known Three Kingdoms, the famous military commanders Zhuge Liang, Sima Yi, Lu Xun, etc., are also literati.
The Song Dynasty's foreign performance was unsatisfactory, in fact, there was another reason, not the pot of the military system.
To a large extent, the decline of the Song Dynasty in foreign wars actually stemmed from Shi Jingjiao's cession of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun.
On the one hand, it made the Central Plains Dynasty lose its barrier and it was difficult to stop the iron horses of the nomads. In the late Northern Song Dynasty, the Jin people were often able to easily break through the Song army's defense line and attack the capital Bianjing, which is the reason.
On the other hand, it also gave the nomads a huge living space, allowing them to grow up in the vast grasslands, and finally had the ability to threaten the core areas of the Central Plains Dynasty.
In fact, the military power of the Song Dynasty was not weak.
In the battle of Song and Jin, due to the inaction of the two artists of Hui and Qin in the early days, they did lose much face, but the performance of the Song army in the later period was still remarkable.
Not only Yue Fei, Han Shizhong and other famous generals had a good record against Jin, but Yu Yunwen, a scholar, also broke the Jin army in Quarry Rock, basically ending the history of the Jin Dynasty's southern invasion.
The last opponent of the Song Dynasty, the Mongols, who swept across Europe, encountered the strongest opponent in the process of conquering the world, which was precisely the Southern Song Dynasty, which we considered relatively weak.
The Mongols were devastating and invincible all the way to Eurasia. But it was extremely difficult to fight the Southern Song Dynasty.
From the Great Khan of Ogedai to Kublai Khan, the ancestor of the Yuan dynasty, from the first year of Duanping in the Southern Song Dynasty to the second year of Xiangxing (1234-1279 AD), the Mengyuan army defeated the Southern Song Dynasty, which took a full 46 years.
It can be said that in order to take the Southern Song Dynasty, the Mongols also paid a huge price. For example, it was during the attack on the Southern Song Dynasty that the successor of Ögedei, Möngke Khan, was killed in battle at the foot of Diaoyu Cheng (present-day Diaoyu City in Hechuan, Chongqing).
It was an event that changed the history of the world.
After Meng Ke's death, the Mongol princes of the Eurasian battlefield returned to Mobei one after another, fighting for the throne, and the unified Mongol Khanate fell apart.
After that, the Mongol cavalry was no longer able to look westward, and European civilization escaped a fatal catastrophe.
In fact, the main reason for the demise of the Southern Song Dynasty was not its own weakness, but the strength of its opponents.
The Mongol Khanate of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries was a perfect war machine, unrivaled in the world at that time.
After stubborn resistance, the Southern Song Dynasty finally died of exhaustion, and it can be said that it was still glorious despite defeat.
At the time of the death of the Song Dynasty, 100,000 soldiers and civilians followed the late emperor to jump into the sea and die for the country, which was a unique heroic act in human history.
An unpopular dynasty will not be defended to the death.
Of course, the cost of the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty was also painful.
In the battle against the Yuan, the Han elite suffered casualties, and the traditional scholar culture was devastated.
After the death of the Song Dynasty, there was no Huaxia, and it was from this that it came from.
In contrast, the scholars of the Ming Dynasty were keen on party strife and had little loyalty to speak of. After the Manchu Qing Dynasty entered the customs, these defenders who opposed the peace negotiations and did not agree to move the capital on the grounds of integrity rushed out to surrender, which is really very ironic.
If there is still a groove in the Song Dynasty militarily, outside of the military, the two Song Dynasty are god-level existences.
Or it can be said that the Song Dynasty was the most prosperous period in Chinese history in terms of economy, culture, science and technology, and the pinnacle of Chinese feudal society.
According to the world-renowned economic historian Gonde Frank, "During the Song Dynasty in the 11th and 12th centuries, China was undoubtedly the most economically advanced region in the world. At that time, China's economy far surpassed the rest of the world in terms of industrialization, commercialization, monetization, and urbanization.
Mr. Chen Yinke, a famous historian, believes that "the culture of the Chinese nation, which has evolved over thousands of years, was created in the Zhao and Song dynasties. ”
The prosperity of the Song Dynasty was first and foremost due to its relaxed political environment.
The political system of the Two Song Dynasty is a bit like a constitutional monarchy, and the emperor and the scholars govern the country together, and the major issues of right and wrong need to be "discussed".
The so-called public discussion, simply put, means that the ministers gather together to openly discuss major issues of disagreement and form a final resolution.
It is important that this resolution, the emperor is required to carry out.
For example, in November of the first year of Jingkang (1127 AD), the Jin people invaded the Song Dynasty in the south, demanding that the Northern Song Dynasty cede land, otherwise they would attack Bianjing.
The boss at that time, Song Qinzong, held a democratic vote on the Yanhe Palace, and as a result, 70 people agreed to cut the land, and 36 people opposed it.
The minority obeyed the majority, and the Song court adopted the policy of exchanging land for peace.
The public discussion system was a constraint on the ministers and the emperor, so the imperial power in the Song Dynasty was significantly weaker than that of the previous dynasties, and the status of the civil servants was the opposite.
There are many people who would like to speak on this point.
For example, Kou Laoxi, who dragged Song Zhenzong to the city tower to supervise the battle;
For example, the black charcoal that splashed spit on Song Renzong's face.
In fact, the emperor of the Song Dynasty was not only tolerant of the courtiers, but also very tolerant of the literary and artistic old and young people in the opposition.
For example, Li Qingzhao's sister wrote poems such as "I still think of Xiang Yu and refuse to cross Jiangdong" to slap the face and run away from Emperor Zhao Gou, but she is still safe and sound.
Of course, the Song Dynasty was not only a prosperous era for literati, as a grass people, living in the Song Dynasty was probably happier than the Han and Tang Dynasties.
Because, in addition to surpassing the Han and Tang dynasties in terms of wealth, the Song Dynasty also had a policy that was very popular with the petty bourgeoisie.
The Song dynasty was a dynasty with no curfews, and in big cities like Bianjing and Lin'an, the nightlife of the citizens was abundant, which is also the only one in Chinese history.
So Gao Xiaosong said that if he went back to ancient times, he would like to live in the Song Dynasty.
The greatness of a dynasty and a country lies not in the vastness of its territory and its military flaunting and prestige, but in the richness, decency, and sense of dignity of the small people's lives.
Of course, a strong country should also be able to shelter its citizens. However, I believe that this depends not only on our own military strength, but also on the order and rules of human society.
In a world dominated by the law of the jungle, no country or nation can be immune, as the ashes of the great civilizations in history have amply demonstrated.
This is the reason why it is so important to let Ukraine win today, and it is also the reason why Johnson gave up his personal interests to release military aid.
Or, in Johnson's own words, "this is not a small political game, the whole world depends on it."
Text/West Building Drinking Moon
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